“Just not used to such late nights,” William told her, patting her hand.
Lucy turned toward me. “I’m coming with you.”
“You don’t have to,” I said. “I can file the report on your behalf. I’m sure one of the police will come out to talk to the family about Wickham afterward.”
“I need to be there,” Lucy firmly replied.
I nodded. We gathered our coats and headed out to my rental car. The morning was clear and sunny, leaving the snow extra white. Neither of us spoke. Lucy stared out the window, watching the sunlight glint across the frozen fields. It didn’t take long to reach the small town of Maple Ridge.
The police station was a small brown building. It gave the impression that there wasn’t much crime in the area. The sergeant behind the desk greeted us politely. I handed over the folder of photocopied invoices and summarized what had happened. Lucy stood beside me, adding details about the event and the timeline. The man took down the details, asked us questions, then printed a form, asking us to sign it. Once that was done, he stated we would get a copy of a police report.
“What happens next?” Lucy asked.
“We’ll do some investigating and will likely contact you for further questions,” the sergeant said.
There was little else he could tell us, other than the investigation had been opened and we would have to see how it proceeded.
I thanked the officer and collected the incident number. We decided to walk to a nearby cafe since the weather was fine.
Inside, warmth wrapped around us. We ordered and sat by a window.
Lucy stared into her cup, then said, “I’m going to pay you back.”
“No,” I said automatically.
“I’m serious.”
“So am I,” I replied.
“I can’t owe you this,” she said. “I’ll send installments when I can.”
“Stop." I set my cup down. “You don’t owe me anything.”
“That’s not true." Finally Lucy’s eyes met mine and I could read the conflicting emotions there.
“It is,” I said evenly. “I didn’t do it for repayment. I did it because I wanted to help.”
“Why?” she asked. “You barely know us.”
“I know you. I know that you love your family, have an impressive work ethic that some people might think of as obsessive, I know you prefer a world where everything is fair even though that isn’t practical, and I know you belong at the SnowDrop Inn,” I told her.
“Does that mean you’re not going to offer me my old job back?” Lucy wryly questioned even as her lips pulled into an almost smile from teasing me.
“No. I’ll have to find someone else for the position,” I agreed.
“I suppose that means you will be going back to the city soon,” Lucy murmured.
“I have to go back eventually. The business isn’t set up to work remotely fulltime,” I reluctantly agreed. Although, with Braxton’s help, I could change that.
She nodded, fingers tightening around her mug.
I waited, hoping she would ask me to stay, but the request didn’t come. I tamped down any disappointment I felt.
We sat in companionable silence after that, letting the noise of other people fill the space our words couldn’t. When we finished, I paid before she could reach for her wallet. She rolled her eyes but didn’t fight me.
At the post office, I stopped to collect a parcel I had been expecting. It was a small brown-wrapped package that fit easily under my arm. The clerk handed it over with a receipt. Lucy glanced at it but didn’t ask and I didn’t tell her what it was.
The drive back to the inn was silent. I wanted to tell Lucy that everything would be fine but I didn’t make promises I couldn’t keep.
